


Destroy the Middle

by rheesballoons



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Eventual Relationships, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Plot Twists, Teen Angst, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-02 14:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8670538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rheesballoons/pseuds/rheesballoons
Summary: When you're young, you're willing to risk it all.





	1. keep together

**Author's Note:**

> "It's you and me and everybody in between."

Her heart began to pound when she pulled up to the curb of the house which was bigger than she expected it to be. All the parties she’d ever been to had occurred in far houses down the ways from her families or crappy shot gun houses on the other side of town. This house looked like neither, with a clean driveway and a well kept lawn in the front that was scattered with red solo cups. The bass from the music playing inside the house could be felt through her body before she even got out of the car.

Slamming the door behind her, she started up the long driveway, noticing a passed out boy on the front lawn and smiling to herself. Once inside the house, immediately she felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she saw a stream of familiar faces in the crowded living room and made her way to the kitchen to get herself a drink. Grabbing a red solo cup and a can of BudLight, she heard her name being called from behind her. Turning around, she saw her best friend coming towards her with outstretched arms.

“Tara,” she gushed, pulling the brown haired girl into a large hug, glad to see someone worth having a conversation with.

“Did you just get here?"

“Only walked in about five minutes ago,” Maggie responded, pouring the beer into her cup. "Where's everyone?"

“A group of us drove here together. Rosita, Glenn, ya know the gang. I would've had you come with but I didn't know you were coming."

"Neither did I. It was a last minute decision. Said "what the hell" and jumped in my car," Maggie said, whilst taking a sip of her drink, having to get familiar to the rancid taste.

"Come on, everyone's gonna be stoked to see you." Tara said taking Maggie's arm and guiding her away from the kitchen and into the backyard which was even more crowded than the inside of the house. There were people jumping in the pool and others crowding around a bing pong table that was being used for numerous rounds of Beer Pong.

"Forewarning, your boy is really fucking drunk," Tara told Maggie, making her laugh at the thought of what she might see.

"Not my boy," Maggie shot back which led to Tara rolling her eyes and mumbling an "yeah sure." Arriving to the group, they notice that one of the boys is gyrating to the bass of the music which results in non-stop laughter from everyone else.

“What the fuck is he doing,” Tara asked Rosita through loud laughter, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

“Interpretive dance. He’s been doing this since you left.”

“God he’s shit-faced. His hangover tomorrow is going to be insane." When Rosita notices Maggie, her eyes light up with joy.

"Hey, you made it," Rosita said, slipping from under Tara's arm and embracing Maggie in a hug.

"Must've missed the pre-game," Maggie said, nodding her head towards the dancing boy.

"Nah, he's just a lightweight," interrupted one of the other boys who was sipping a Budweiser. He had dark brown hair that reached the end of his ears and a dirty sleeveless shirt.

"What about you, Dixon," she started. "Which beer are you on right now, you're fifth."

"Fourth. And I wouldn't be talking miss "takes one shot and she's gone," he said stumbling his words.

"Sorry, I couldn't understand you through all the mumbling that just came out of your mouth," she joked, making him glare his eyes at her.

"Here come's the lovely couple," Tara shouted at the two figures making their way out of the darkness, starting to clap as they walked forward.

"Thank you, thank you," the girl said, pretending to curtsy. "Wait, Maggie." She springed forward, wrapping her arms around the girls shoulders and holding her tight, limiting her air supply.

"Michonne, I love you but I can't breathe," she whispered, making the arms unwind from around her immediately.

"I'm sorry," her friend sighed, laughing out an airy laugh. "It's just good to see you. Plus I've had a couple of drinks so I'm really pumped that you came."

Laughing, Maggie assured her that it was okay and that it was good to see her. "Hey Rick," she said, giving a small head nod to the boy standing behind Michonne. He nodded back, giving her a slight smile.

"Guys', I'm not feeling to well," the dancing boy said, coming to a halt and sliding down to the ground.

"That's what you get for dancing like a lunatic for fifteen minutes straight," Maggie stated, leaning down and lifting his head up, so she can see his face which was all too familiar to her by now. His brown eyes stared back into hers as a big smile began to spread across his face once he realized who he was looking back at.

"Maggie," he sighed, leaning his head against her hand. "You saved me."

"Not exactly, Glenn." Looking to her friends, she suggested they should get him home which lead to him pleading for them not to.

"My mom is gonna kill me, I can't go home."

"Then where are you supposed to go," she said, smiling at his pouting faces.

"Can I spend the night at one of your guy's place," he asked, slightly falling asleep with his head against the wall.

"Any other night you would be able to but my parents aren't gonna be fans of waking up to un-flushed vomit in their toilet. Again," Tara stated.

"I promise I won't throw up," Glenn whined.

"That's what you said the last time buddy," she responded, rubbing his head. The rest of the group gave reasons as to why they couldn't house him for the night, Rick's being Michonne already was going to be his guest for the night and Daryl flat out said no.

"For your sake and mine," he mumbled, finishing his can of beer and throwing it on the floor.

"Fine, you can stay at mine but I'm going to need you to at least try to sober up before we go. I'm not in the mood for getting yelled at tonight," Maggie said to Glenn. "Can you stand?" He nodded his head, pushing himself off the floor and standing against the wall. Almost right after he gained his balance, he hunched over and threw up the contents of his stomach on the pavement. Wincing, Maggie placed her hand on his back, rubbing it in comfort.

"At least I won't have to worry about you throwing up in my car," she said and in response he retched again. 

 

* * *

 

Grabbing a can of beer from the kitchen, he heads toward the front door, silently leaving the party. Walking down the street, away from the house that was alien to his normal shack sized home, he opens the stolen can of beer and takes a long sip from it. Pulling it away, a light headed sensation starts to form in his head and decides that he's far away from the house to take a seat on the curb. Fishing for his pack of cigarettes, he pulls it out of his front pocket and places one between his lips. Lighting it, his head snaps backwards as he hears rustling coming from behind but ignores the sounds realizing it's probably an animal roaming through the shrubbery. 

After hearing it a couple more times, he get's annoyed, shouting back at the bushes in response. 

"If anyone's back there you're asking to get your ass kicked." He took a drag from his cigarette before hearing it again which made him stand up from his spot on the curb and walk right to the source of the noise. Pulling the green bushes back, all he see's is a possum's glowing eyes staring at him. 

"Get outta here," he says, kicking the area around the animal trying to scare it away, but it wouldn't move at all. "Go on!" 

"You alright, man," a voice from behind him asks, startling the boy and making him turn fiercely. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." 

"What do you want," he asks angrily, staring down at the long haired boy in front of him who seemed to come out of nowhere. He didn't hear his footsteps or any sign of a warning that he would be behind him. 

"Just making sure you're good, I mean you are talking to shrubbery." 

"Heard somethin'." 

"Huh, because it's so unlikely to hear animals roaming through the bushes in the backwoods of Georgia," he joked, smiling at the other boy but dropping it when he realized he didn't find it funny. "Anyway, I was just walking home from the party back there. You're coming from there also I assume." 

He made a noise in response to the boys question. 

"I'm Paul, by the way," the boy said, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. "But my friends gave me the nickname Jesus." 

The boy opposite of him scoffed. "Seriously?" 

"It's the hair," Jesus said, gesturing to his long locks. "It's not everyday you see a boy willingly keep his hair long in such a humid place."

"Ain't got no beard." 

"Yet," he smirked, making the other boy laugh slightly. 

"Daryl." 

"Ah, I see." 

"See what," Daryl asked defensively, somewhat offended by Jesus' comment. 

"Nothing," he said, putting his hands up. "Just a pleasure finally meeting the man behind the stories." 

"Ain't go no stories."

"That's a surprise, because I've heard plenty of them." Standing in silence, Jesus starts walking away, before turning back to Daryl. "You comin'?" 

 


	2. say yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's always been wait and see."

They managed to successfully get Glenn to her car without him throwing up but Maggie worried he would unexpectedly hurl at any moment. Even though he promised he was alright, the thought of cleaning the remains off her front seat made her cringe.

“How’re you feeling,” Maggie asked, glancing at him from the drivers seat to see Glenn resting his head on the window of her car.

“Stomach hurts,” the intoxicated boy groaned.

“If you feel like you’re gonna throw up, don’t please. Is there anything I can get you?” Lifting his head up from the window, Maggie looked back over at him to see a gleeful smile spread across his face.

“Waffle House.” “

Sure you can handle it,” she asked, laughing at his request.

“Yes. That sounds so good right now. I would kill for a plate of eggs and bacon and pancakes and-oh my god water. What I would do some water right now,” he replied, the words getting faster as he spoke.

“Woah, slow down there, cowboy. There’s one off the next exit, we’ll be there soon enough.”

* * *

 

Walking in to their destination, they noticed that the Waffle House was only being occupied by three other people. Maggie began walking to the furthest booth in the back, Glenn trailing right behind her, groaning as he slid into the leather seat. Placing his head into his hands, he started to complain about the pounding sensation in his head.

“Hopefully that’s a sign you’re sobering up,” Maggie said, taking out her phone and checking the time. 12:04. Her dad should be asleep by now which meant sneaking Glenn in would be easy as long as he stayed quiet. Just then a waitress came to their table, handing them menus and asking what they wanted for drinks.

“Two water’s and a coffee, please,” she responded quickly, smiling up at the waitress.

“Coming right up,” the waitress said, walking away to retrieve their orders.

“Why’d you order coffee,” Glenn asked, his head still lowered into his hands.

“Oh, I didn’t order it for me. That’s for you,” she responded, continuing when she saw his disgusted expression. “It’ll help you sober up faster.”

“But I hate coffee,” he groaned.

“You’ll survive.” The waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders which ended up with Glenn ordering most of the food. After she walked away, Maggie opened up her bag and took out a small bottle of tablets, popping one into her hand then placing it on the table in front of Glenn.

“It’ll help with your headache.” Mumbling “thanks”, he quickly took it, popping it into his mouth then downing his water. “Feelin’ better,” Maggie asked, hiding a smirk as Glenn let out an exasperated sigh, taking the cup away from his lips.

“Barely.” Setting the cup down, he stared back at Maggie who was looking down at her phone, responding to a text.

“Sorry,” she said, placing the phone down on the table. “Tara was just asking me if we had gotten home yet. Told her we made a quick stop here and she said and I quote, “can’t believe you assholes didn’t invite me.” Something tells me she too was craving Waffle House.”

“Yeah,” Glenn responded, laughing lightly then looking back at Maggie and staring into her green eyes with his brown ones.

“What,” she asked, furrowing her brows in confusion at his entranced state.

“Nothing it’s just—thank you for this.” Even though she knew that he was still slightly intoxicated and she shouldn’t think anything of this moment except his gratitude, she felt her stomach flutter at his words, creating a smile spread across her face.

“No problem. And I should be the one thanking you. I can’t think of another reason I would be in a Waffle House at 12 in the morning about to stuff my face with breakfast food.”

“You never get midnight cravings,” he asked, shocked at Maggie’s words.

“Well yeah, everyone does but I don’t drive out in the middle of the night to get food. I go in my kitchen and pour myself a bowl of cereal like every other person.”

“How lame,” Glenn said, shaking his head. “I’m glad I could experience you’re first time leaving you're house to fulfill a midnight craving.”

“It’s not like I left the house tonight and thought I would end up at Waffle House,” she joked. “And anyway, this was your midnight craving not mine.”

At that moment, the waitress returned with their orders, placing multiple plates of food in front of the two of them. “Let me know if you need anything,” the waitress said before walking off and leaving the two teens to engulf in their midnight cravings.

* * *

They walked in silence, glancing at each other through side eyes to see which one of the two of them would suddenly break it. Surprisingly enough, Daryl was the one to clear the air, a tone of aggravation in his voice. 

“You needed someone to walk you home or somethin’?” Jesus laughed at his remark, realizing that he was the one who initiated their little walk in the first place and hasn’t said a single word since.

“Sorry, I don’t mean for this to be weird I just didn’t want to say something that made you uncomfortable or anything.” 

“The only thing makin’ me uncomfortable is you not saying nothin’,” Daryl grumbled, sticking his hands in his front pockets with irritability. He couldn’t believe he was walking with a complete stranger in the middle of the night on a dark road considering he preferred to be alone under any circumstances. It must be the alcohol, he thought to himself trying to make sense of the situation. 

“You lived in Georgia long,” Jesus asked, making an attempt at breaking the ice which made Daryl scoff and make him say his thoughts allowed. 

“I can’t believe this is happenin’.” 

“I just moved down here a couple years ago with my dad. It’s been alright so far despite the smoldering heat but who am I to say anything I mean I haven’t cut my hair since the dark ages. Not that I was around for the—,” he was cut off by Daryl who stopped in the middle of the road and turned towards Jesus. He just couldn’t open up to this kid and act like he hadn’t met him ten minutes ago as he was yelling at a possum. 

“This,” he said gesturing to the two of them, “isn’t happenin’.” 

“It’s just a conversation, Daryl,” Jesus said, smirking at the boy across from him. “All you have to do is talk.” The thought of just talking made Daryl nervous. He didn’t want to reveal too much about who he was or why he does things or how he became the way he did. It was something he never became comfortable with since he never had anyone to talk to about any of it. Of course he had Maggie who was always there for him when he needed it but what could she do to help. He had Rick who always encouraged him to come over for when he simply just needed to get away and whenever he did go over it’s not like he was able to talk about it. It was just nice to be able to be somewhere that wasn’t chaotic and everything just was the way it was supposed to be, a feeling unfamiliar to Daryl. 

He glared at Jesus who was still smirking back at him and shrugged his shoulders, letting Daryl know it was his call not his. 

“All you have to do is talk,” Jesus’ word’s echoed in Daryl’s head, creating an anxious feeling in his mind which helped him make a decision. Still glaring at the boy, he asked a question he was curious to hear the answer to. 

“You said you heard stories...'bout what?" 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being so behind but I'm gonna try and update more frequently since my finals are almost over! Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter and if not that's cool too but regardless thank you for reading :))


	3. first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bring me with your hands, show me a safe place and I'll calm down."

“I’ve heard tons of stories. The one’s about you are very,” Jesus stops, trying to find the right word. “Intriguing.” He glances over at Daryl who is looking over at him through long strands of brown hair that are covering most of his eyes, making it difficult to tell if he’s just looking or glaring. Most likely glaring, thought Jesus as he tried to hide a smirk as it popped into his head. 

“There was the one about you and your brother. You guys apparently traveled to a bar halfway across town for reasons unknown but if I’m allowed to let my imagination roam I’m going to assume there was a lady involved.” He looked at Daryl for confirmation who shrugged his shoulders, looking away. 

“You’re doin’ alright so far.” The long haired boy smiled, continuing his retelling of the story. 

“So you and your brother get to this bar and he finds the girl he’s looking for. Tries to put the moves on her and she’s smitten,” Jesus says but is interrupted but a scoff. 

“Don’t know why anyway. He was covered in grime up to his elbows and was already on his seventh beer so his words were slurring all over the place.” 

“Jealous, Dixon?” 

“Hell no,” he says, sincerity in his voice. “Just don’t see how anyone could be attracted to that son of a bitch.” 

Laughing, Jesus begins again. “Your brother’s chatting her up and they're getting on real well until her boyfriend appears which then she starts creating a scene saying your brother was hitting on her. And the boyfriend is a big guy with a madman type beard and tattoos, you know what I mean.” 

“I was there,” Daryl said, rolling his eyes and sticking a cigarette in his mouth. 

“Right, of course. But your brother gets all tough calling this guy a “sissy” and how this girl needs a “real man” which he obviously wasn’t providing and this sets the guy off. He hits your brother, your brother hits back, blah blah blah. But you,” Jesus says, narrowing his eyes at the boy walking besides him, “come out of nowhere, enraged, and start beating up on this guy alongside your brother. Little do you and your brother know is that Mr. Crazy Eyes brought along his friends which causes them to join in. At this point, its two on four. You guys are getting your asses kicked,” Daryl grumbles at this, remembering this part of the story perfectly clear. 

“And you have the insane, but I gotta admit, brilliant idea of breaking a glass bottle over one of the guys heads.” 

“Brilliant?” 

“Well, only up until this next part. You do the bottle over the head act but the friend of Crazy Eyes has the same idea except he ends up stabbing you in shoulder with a broken glass bottle. From what I hear, it wasn’t very deep and the rest of the story doesn’t end on a very positive note. You’re bleeding all over the place, your brothers pissed even more, the bar owner eventually kicks you guys out. Boring stuff but still a very encapsulating story. Everyone was talking about it for months. Sometimes I still hear kids mention it but not too often.” Jesus looks at Daryl when he hears a slight chuckle escape from his mouth. 

“What,” he says, taken aback by the boys sudden release of emotion that isn’t annoyance. 

“Nothin’. You’re just good at tellin’ stories, that’s all.” 

 

* * *

 

 

Pulling up to her small farmhouse, Maggie takes the keys out of the ignition and turns to Glenn, repeating the words she told him when they left the Waffle House. 

“You can’t make any noise when we get in the house. If my dad wakes up,” she gets cut off. 

“I know, he’ll kill the both of us. I won’t make any noise. Promise,” he says, holding up his pinky finger. She links it with hers, making the two of them smile. 

“Alright, lets go.” Getting out of the car, she reaches out for Glenn’s hand. “So I can guarantee you won’t wander off and break something.” 

“You make me sound like the most reckless guy on the planet,” he responds, grabbing her hand. 

“Who says you aren’t?” 

“Have you met Daryl Dixon?” 

“True,” she says, walking up the front steps and putting the keys in the lock. “Now be quiet until we get to my room.” 

Taking his silence as an understanding of her words, she opens the front door and slowly walks through pulling Glenn behind her. Closing the door, she quickly walks towards the stairs and winces as she hears the first step creak with her weight. Holding her breath, she slowly begins to walk up the stairs with Glenn trying his best to make as little noise as possible. 

Once they successfully get to her room, she close the door and waits there for a moment to make sure she can’t hear her father getting up. 

“What are you doing” Glenn whispered to Maggie, standing beside her in the darkness. 

“Making sure my dad’s not getting up. I think we’re good,” she replies, turning the light on in her room. Walking towards her dresser, she grabs clothes and goes into the bathroom to change out of her outfit into sweats, telling Glenn she’ll be right back. Emerging from the bathroom, she realizes Glenn has fallen asleep on her bed, making a smile spread across her face. Pulling the blankets from under him, she spreads them over him and turns off her bedroom light. Setting an early alarm for her phone, she sets it on the bedside table and crawls underneath the covers next to Glenn leaving a small amount of space between him and her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest but ignored it and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep but before she could heard the boy next to her mumble something. 

“Glenn,” she said, sitting up on her elbow and placing her hand on his arm. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” 

She could feel his eyes on her even though she couldn’t see them as he spoke. “I just really appreciate everything you’ve done for me tonight.”

“It’s really no problem. I’m just glad you didn’t get us caught,” she said, laying back down and staring ahead at him in the darkness. As she looked at someone she couldn’t see, memories raced through her head of the night they just had and how she wouldn’t have wanted to experience it with anyone else. A smile began to spread across her lips as her mind wandered and realized just exactly what the boy meant to her.

“Yeah, me too,” Glenn whispered back, his breath getting closer as he spoke. “How am I gonna sneak out of here with your dad-.” He was cut off mid sentence by Maggie’s hand which she placed entirely over his face. 

“Sh, we’ll figure that out when we wake up.” Nodding his head, he removed her hand from his face and held it in his which made the smile reappear on Maggie’s face. 

“You tryna put the moves on me, Rhee,” she joked, knowing his face was beat red without even having to see him. 

“No, I would never,” he said, removing his hand from hers. “I mean, not that I would never—I just—I’m-.” 

“Stop your mumbling, your gonna wake the whole house if you keep stammering like that,” she said, moving forward in an attempt to kiss him but ended up pressing her lips to his nose. “That was supposed to be a lot smoother.” 

“So now you’re trying to put the moves on me,” Glenn whispered, laughing slightly. 

“Are you gonna kiss me or do you wanna talk all night?” In response, he placed his hand on the side of her face and pulled her into him, kissing her lips gently. Pulling away, she feels his breath on her lips as he mutters the words, “You’re so beautiful.” 

“You can’t even see me, you dork,” she scoffed, chuckling at his comment. 

“It doesn’t matter ‘cause I know you still look beautiful.” Smiling, she kissed him again, realizing exactly how much he meant to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeeaassss finally updated and its a long-ish chapter so enjoy ya'll :))


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